Late Bronze Age City

Virtual view of Tall Zira'a with the walled city from the late bronze age.

Dig House

Yard of the dig house in Umm Qeis - an ottoman courtyard house built at the beginning of the 20th century.

Chocolate-on-white Ware

This jar originates from the transition period between middle and late Bronze Age.

Area I (2008)

Excavation Area I had been extended to 1000 m² in 2008, when the latest phase of the late Bronze Age was reached.

Cylinder Seals

By spring 2010 we found 39 cylinder seals made of stone, faience, quartz frit and ceramic.

Bedouin Tent

Traditions have remained alive for thousands of years at the foot of Tall Zira'a.

Ceramic Sherds

Numerous sherds bear witness to more than 5000 years of settlement at the Tall.

Bronze Sieve

Replica of a Bronze Age sieve (BAI) - the original is in possession of the Amman National Museum.

Tall Zira'a from South-West

The aerial view shows Area I in the foreground and on the left side Area II.

Wadi al'Arab

View from Gadara/Umm Qais to Wadi al-'Arab and Tall Zira'a.

News

9th Campaign - Sommer 2011

Tall Zira’a meets San Francisco
The ASOR annual meeting in San Francisco on November 16-19, 2011 gathered hundreds of Ancient Near Eastern scholars and archaeologists. more >>

Congress for young researchers in Turin (Italy)
Two young scientists of the BAI spoke about issues concerning their PhD thesis on the 4th Broadening Horizons conference. more >>

DEI Course Programme 2011 attended the Tall Zira'aFourjournalistsfrom Germany, took a day trip from Israel to the Tall Zira'a and
learned aboutthe historical and cultural development of the region.more >>

The summer 2011 excavation lasted from July 7 to 27.
In this period we also completed the hinterland survey.
Please find the summary report about the excavation progress at Tall Zira'a/Campaigns.

About the Project

Finds

In northern Jordan close to the border with Israel the Gadara Region Project researches the lower part of Wadi al'Arab. An ancient trade road leads from Egypt through Palestine and Syria to Mesopotamia. The main settlement site in the Wadi al'Arab was Tall Zira'a. An artesian spring on the hill's surface always offered favourable living conditions.